1. Field of the Invention
Embodiments of the present disclosure relate generally to power conversion and, in particular, to reducing harmonics in output current from a power conversion module.
2. Description of the Related Art
Solar panels, or photovoltaic (PV) modules, convert energy from sunlight received into direct current (DC). The PV modules cannot store the electrical energy they produce, so the energy must either be dispersed to an energy storage system, such as a battery or pumped hydroelectricity storage, or dispersed by a load. One option to use the energy produced is to employ one or more inverters to convert the DC current into an alternating current (AC) and couple the AC current to the commercial power grid. The power produced by such a distributed generator (DG) system can then be sold to the commercial power company.
During the power conversion process, non-ideal circuit behavior may result in undesirable harmonics in the generated output current. Further, inverter output current coupled to a commercial power grid must comply with restrictions regarding harmonics as specified in relevant regulatory requirements, such as IEEE-1547-2003. One technique for reducing inverter output current harmonic distortion is to use passive filtering. Due to the relatively low frequencies of some harmonic components, the components required for the passive filters would be bulky and expensive, leading to an undesirable increase in size and cost of the inverter.
Therefore, there is a need for a method and apparatus for efficiently reducing distortion in output current from a power conversion module.